CAIRO: An estimated 20,000 people participated Wednesday afternoon in the funeral procession of a 15-year-old boy who died the previous morning after clashes between Bedouins and police in the Maassura area between Rafah and Al-Arish, according to an eyewitness.
Ouda Mohammed Ouda Arafat, 15, died Tuesday morning as a result of injuries sustained in a protest the previous day between Bedouins and police, which led to the injury of 15 others.
The 20,000-strong contingent accompanied the boy’s body from the Sheikh Zowayed hospital to his residence in Maassura, shouting anti-government slogans, the lion’s share directed at Interior Minister Habib Al-Adly.
Slogans were also chanted against President Hosni Mubarak and security forces in general. According to Tagammu party member and former parliamentary candidate Hussein El Qayem, who was present at the procession, the Bedouins swore revenge if a fair solution wasn’t presented by the government.
A medical coroner had examined Arafat’s body Wednesday morning and written a report which Arafat’s father was yet to receive. The father was taken to a nearby police station for interrogation before being released to receive his son’s body.
El Qayem told Daily News Egypt that the boy’s father was mulling the idea of taking the Interior Minister to court over the death of his son.
Additionally, the Bedouins refused to have any members or local officials affiliated to the National Democratic Party participate in the procession. Instead, members of the Kefaya National Movement for Change, the Popular Committee for Citizen Rights and the Tagammu party were welcomed.
Arafat died as a result of injuries sustained during a Bedouin demonstration on Monday which protested government plans to empty buildings within 150 meters of the walled border with Gaza.
Egypt is under pressure from Israel to curb the amount of arms smuggling that takes place on this border, mainly through tunnels dug underneath the wall.
In other news from the region, 1,600 Palestinians have been allowed to return to Gaza through the Erez crossing between Israel and the isolated strip. They are entering Israel through the rarely used Al-Oja cargo crossing.
On Sunday and Monday, Israel had admitted 413 people through the Al-Oja crossing, and had pre-approved the names of more than a thousand others who have yet to cross.
However, the status of those Palestinians who are affiliated with Hamas remains unclear. Additionally for those who do cross, it is uncertain how Hamas will react to their attempted entry through the Erez crossing.
Hamas is opposed to this new crossing scheme because it allows Israel to control who enters Gaza. The previously used Rafah crossing is a direct route from Egypt to Gaza.
The Rafah crossing has been closed for two months now since fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah, giving Hamas control over Gaza.
The Palestinians attempting to cross also face difficulties on entry into Gaza because of Hamas’ refusal to allow any of the stranded Palestinians entry except through the Rafah crossing.
“We have talked to Hamas and they have refused to allow them into Gaza, and if they do enter, they might be subject to arrest and charged with criminal offences, local coordinator for Palestinian Affairs Abdel Sattar El-Ghalban previously told Daily News Egypt.
Local estimates place the number of stranded Palestinians in Rafah and Al-Arish at 6,000.
